Geriatric furniture



P 1964 w. A HILLENBRAND ETAL 3,149,348

GERIATRIC FURNITURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept 4, 1962 a rat,

w. A. HILLENBRAND ETAL 3,149,348

Sept. 22, 1964 GERIATRIC FURNITURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 4,v 1962 United States Patent 3,149,348 GERIATRIC FURNITURE William A. Hillenhrand, Franklin County, and Francis J. Burst, Batesville, Ind., assignors to Hill-Rom Company, Inc., Batesville, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Filed Sept. 4, 1962, Ser. No. 221,170 4 Claims. (Cl. 63)

This invention relates to geriatric furniture and has for its principal object the provision of new and improved furniture of this type. 7 It is a main object of the invention to provide articles of furniture capable of being readily adjusted vertically thereby to adapt the furniture to the needs of ambulatory geriatric patients.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bed which can be adjusted vertically in a convenient manner thereby to enable a geriatric patient to enter and leave the bed safely without assistance.

Another object of the invention is to provide geriatric furniture which can be manufactured at low cost without sacrificing quality thereby to render the furniture attractive to convalescent or nursing homes and similar institutions catering to senior citizens.

Further objects of the invention not specifically mentioned here will be apparent from the detailed description and claims which follow, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown by way of example and in which FIG. 1 is a plan View of a bed embodying the teachings of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the bed;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the bed drawn to an enlarged scale;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the portion of the bed shown in the fragmentary detail view of FIG. 3 drawn to the enlarged scale; and

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view along the line 55 of FIG. 2 drawn to an enlarged scale.

Modern hospital beds are adjustable to a high level that is convenient to doctors and nurses administering to patients in the bed and are adjustable to a lower level enabling ambulatory patients to enter and leave the bed with 'a minimum danger of falling. In addition, the head and knee sections of such bed can be elevated and the entire spring frame of the bed adjusted into the Trendelenburg and reverse Trendelenburg positions. In many'instances these adjustments are accomplished by power from an electric motor.

Convalescent homes, nursing homes and institutions catering to the care of ambulatory senior citizens seldom require beds capable of the adjustments necessary in a hospital bed; however, in such institutions variations in the height of the bed are advantageous in that such adjustments enable ambulatory patients to enter and leave the bed safely Without assistance.

To equip such institutions with hospital beds involves an unnecessary expense and the present invention has for its principal aim the production of a low cost bed which will meet the needs of such institutions at a cost that is attractive to them.

To this end, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the bed consists of a first or lower frame which is supported upon the floor in parallel relation thereto.

Such frame may be equipped with castors; however, ordinarily castors are not used since the tendency of a bed to roll as a patient is entering or leaving it increases the likelihood of the patient being injured by falling.

Supported upon this lower framework are yoke mechanisms which support an upper or spring frame thereon. These mechanisms are adjustable so that the height of the bed can be made correct for the particular patient occupying the bed. Through this arrangement when a patient moves into the room the bed is adjusted to the correct height for that particular patient and that adjustment maintained unchanged so long as that patient remains in the room.

In addition to providing adjustable beds, it is contemplated that other furniture in the patients room may also be made adjustable vertically so that it can be set at correct height for a particular patient to enable that patient to enter and leave the furniture without assistance.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention as applied to a bed. The bed consists of a lower frame formed by metal side rails 1 and 2 aflixed to a metal head end channel 3 by members 5 and 6, and affixed to a metal foot end channel 4 by members 7 and 8. Legs 9 and 10 are fixed to the ends of end channel 3 to support that end of the frame upon the floor and extend upwardly a short distance above the side rails of the frame to the top of end channel 3. A suitable head board may be attached to the legs 5 and 6 in a convenient manner if desired.

At the opposite ends of the side rails 1 and 2, legs 11 and 12 are fixed to the ends of end channel 4 and extended upwardly a short distance above the side rail to the top of end channel 4. A foot board of convenient design may be attached to the upstanding ends of these legs in any convenient manner.

Fixed upon the side rails 1 and 2 are journals 13 located near the head end of the frame and supporting a yoke thereupon. The yoke consists of a central section of hollow tubing 14 extending through the journals and therebeyond equally on both sides of the frame, terminating in upstanding arms 15 and 16.

Also located upon the side rails 1 and 2 near the foot end of the framework are similar journals 17 which support a second yoke mechanism that consists of a central section of hollow tubing 18 that extends laterally beyond the journals equally in both directions and terminates in upstanding arms 19 and 20.

As will be seen best in FIG. 2, the upstanding arms 15, 16, 19 and 20 of the yokes are disposed at acute angles to the side rails 1 and 2 of the framework. It will also be noted that the arms 15 and 16 of the first yoke extend from the journals towards the head end of the bed, and that the upstanding arms 19 and 20 of the other yoke extend from the journals towards the foot end of the bed.

As will best be seen in FIG. 5, the distal ends of the arms are flattened and pierced by bolts 27 upon which rollers 28 are placed and secured by cotter pins 30. A collar 29 spaces the roller with respect to the arm.

Supported upon these rollers is an upper or spring frame having side rails 21 and 22, end rails 23 and 24, and reinforcing members 25 and 26. Preferably the spring frame is composed of metallic angles positioned with one leg in a horizontal plane and the other vertically along the outer edges of the frame. Suitable spring fabric,

3 not shown, is attached to this upper frame in the usual manner to support the mattress of the bed upon the frame.

Also, as seen in FIG. 5, a channel member 31 is attached at one flange to side rail 21 by any convenient manner such as by rivets 32. The web and other flange, which is smaller in height than the first flange, is such that lateral movement of the upper frame upon the rollers is restricted, and although movable upon the rollers the frame cannot be moved laterally off the rollers due to movements by the patient.

To provide for adjustment of the height of the spring frame with respect to the floor, cross members 33 are secured between the side rails 1 and 2 of the lower frame and a shaft, indicated generally at 34, is journaled in suitable bearings 35 with the axis of the shaft extending longitudinally of the lower frame and coinciding with the longitudinal median line thereof. As can be best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, located on the portion of the shaft 34 adjacent to the yoke opening toward the foot of the bed is a thread section 36 upon which a nut 37 is threaded. Fixed upon the central section of hollow tubing 18 of this yoke are crank levers 38 which depend therefrom and are perforated adjacent their distal ends. Links 39 attached to these levers by suitable pins 40 are also attached to the nut 37 in a known manner.

Located on the portion of the shaft 34 adjacent to the yoke facing the head of the bed is a threaded section 41 upon which a nut 42 is threaded. The central section 14 of this yoke is provided with crank levers 43 which are perforated at their distal ends. Links 44 attached to these levers by suitable pins 45 are also attached to the nut 42 in a known manner.

The shaft extends towards the foot end of the bed and terminates in a socket 46 in which a crank 47 may be inserted to permit rotation of the shaft. The thread sections 36 and 41 are left and right hand pitch threads respectively, with the result that as the shaft is rotated in one direction by the crank 47 the nuts will be drawn closer together and the yokes rotated thereby in their respective journals to lower the spring frame of the bed. Rotation of the shaft in a reverse direction separates the nuts 36 and 41 thereby to rotate the yokes in a reverse direction to increase the angle between the arms of these yokes and the lower frame, thereby to elevate the spring frame. For convenience, the shaft, indicated generally at 34, is shown to be composed of two sections joined by a suitable coupling 48.

Since the yokes at the head section of the bed extend from the journals upward towards the head section, and the other yokes extend upwardly toward the foot section, tendency of the spring frame to be moved longitudinally by the movement of one of the yokes is offset by the tendency of the frame to move longitudinally in the opposite direction through the action of the other yoke. To definitely prevent longitudinal movement of the frame as a result of actions by the patient or attendants and also to limit the distance which the upper frame may be moved vertically with respect to the lower frame, we have provided stabilizers 49 that are fixed to the end rail 23 of the upper frame and extended downwardly alongside the side rails 1 and 2 of the lower frame. Stabilizers 49 contain elongated slots 50 into which project pins 51 carried on the side rails 1 and 2. Pins 51 engage the sides of slots 50 to limit longitudinal movement of the upper frame with respect to the lower frame. These pins also engage the ends of the slots to limit vertical movements of the upper frame with respect to the lower frame.

It has been found that a five-inch variation in the height of the bed is all that is required and that a bed having a lower position seventeen (17) inches above the floor and an upper position twenty-two (22) inches thereabove is satisfactory in most instances.

While we have chosen to illustrate our invention in connection with its embodiment in a bed, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the teachings of the invention can be applied equally well to other articles of furniture, such as chairs, and such an application is contemplated. The invention provides a high quality low cost bed which adequately fills the needs of convalescent and nursing homes and institutions catering to the care of ambulatory senior citizens at a cost low enough to justify the institution being equipped with such beds. It is not intended that the adjustments of the bed be made while the patient is in it; rather when the patient is assigned to a particular bed, that bed is adjusted to the height best for that particular patient to enable the patient to enter and leave the bed safely without assistance and when so adjusted the bed is maintained in that position so long as that particular patient occupies it.

While we have chosen to illustrate our invention by showing and describing a preferred embodiment of it, we have done so by way of example only, as there are many modifications and adaptations which can be made by one skilled in the art within the teachings of the invention.

Having thus complied with the statutes and shown and described a preferred embodiment of our invention, what we consider new and desire to have protected by Letters Patent is pointed out in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A geriatric bed comprising:

(1) a first rectangular frame consisting of side and end rails;

(2) legs attached to said end rails for supporting said frame a fixed distance above a floor and parallel thereto;

(3) a pair of unitary tubular yokes, each consisting of a straight center section with an arm curving from each end of that section and terminating in an end portion disposed at right angles to the center section;

(4) a pair of journals encircling the center section of each yoke and fixed one upon each side rail to journal the yoke upon said first frame;

(5) a pair of crank levers fixed upon the center section of each yoke and depending therefrom;

(6) a shaft journalled upon said first frame longitudinally thereof and having a pair of threaded sections upon each of which a nut is threaded;

(7) links pivotally connected to said nuts and said levers and operative to rotate the yokes responsive to a rotation of the shaft;

(8) a second rectangular frame having side rails supported on the ends of said end portions of said yoke;

(9) a pair of slotted stabilizer bars fixed upon said second frame and depending therefrom each alongside one of the side rails of the first frame;

(10) and pins secured to the side rails of the first frame and projecting into the slots in said bars to stabilize the second frame with respect to the first frame.

2. A geriatric bed as specified in claim 1 in which the slots in the stabilizer bars extend vertically and are closed at their upper and lower ends and in which the pins projecting into the slots engage said closed ends to establish upper and lower limits positions of the second frame with respect to the first frame.

3. A geriatric bed as specified in claim 1 in which the side rails of the second frame are angle bars each having one leg disposed horizontally and the other leg depending from the outer edges of the horizontal leg and in which rollers on the distal ends of the end portions of the yokes engage the horizontal legs to support the second frame on the first frame.

4. A geriatric bed as specified in claim 3 in which short channels fixed on the vertical legs of the second frame rails adjacent the points of engagement of the rollers therewith extend laterally below the rollers to 5 prevent the second frame from being lifted ohthe first frame and terminate adjacent the distal ends of the yoke arms to limit lateral movement of the second frame with respect to the first frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,037,419 Bosanko Sept. 3, 1912 6 Schifihouer July 21, 1931 McIntosh Dec. 26, 1933 Laukhuff Sept. 29, 1942 Leland Dec. 21, 1943 Beem et a1. July 26, 1949 Berner Sept. 15, 1953 Marshall Apr. 10, 1956 Carman June 9, 1959 Hirnelreich Aug. 9, 1960 

1. A GERIATRIC BED COMPRISING: (1) A FIRST RECTANGULAR FRAME CONSISTING OF SIDE AND END RAILS; (2) LEGS ATTACHED TO SAID END RAILS FOR SUPPORTING SAID FRAME A FIXED DISTANCE ABOVE A FLOOR AND PARALLEL THERETO; (3) A PAIR OF UNITARY TUBULAR YOKES, EACH CONSISTING OF A STRAIGHT CENTER SECTION WITH AN ARM CURVING FROM EACH END OF THAT SECTION AND TERMINATING IN AN END PORTION DISPOSED AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE CENTER SECTION; (4) A PAIR OF JOURNALS ENCIRCLING THE CENTER SECTION OF EACH YOKE AND FIXED ONE UPON EACH SIDE RAIL TO JOURNAL THE YOKE UPON SAID FIRST FRAME; (5) A PAIR OF CRANK LEVERS FIXED UPON THE CENTER SECTION OF EACH YOKE AND DEPENDING THEREFROM; (6) A SHAFT JOURNALLED UPON SAID FIRST FRAME LONGITUDINALLY THEREOF AND HAVING A PAIR OF THREADED SECTIONS UPON EACH OF WHICH A NUT IS THREADED; 